It's Your Turn Now
by GiveTheDevilHisDue
Summary: Thirty years have passed since Harry Potter destroyed Voldemort. Soon, though, history is going to repeat itself, as it did many years ago. A new generation of wizards and witches stand ready to fight, just as their parents before them.
1. So It Begins

So, I've wanted to do this story for a long, long time now. I figure it has be published, or I will just keep procrastinating. The main story-line was created by Missphoenix55, who made a fantastic video about the next generation of wizards and witches. I will have the link to the video on my bio, and hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Below are the families and children, so you get a good idea of what's going on. The story is going to start out slow, but it will build up after a few chapters. I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

* * *

**Harry & Ginny**: James Potter, Albus Potter, Lily Potter

**Ron & Hermione**: Rose Weasley, Hugo Weasley

**Remus & Tonks**: Teddy Lupin

**Bill & Fleur**: Victoire, Dominique, Louis

**Draco & Astoria**: Scorpius

**Percy & Audrey**: Molly, Lucy

**Luna & Rolf**: Lorcan, Lysander

**George & Angelina**: Fred II, Roxanne**Neville & Hannah**: Frankie Longbottom: There is no other info regarding Neville and Hannah's children. I made up Frankie…in the video it's Freddie, but that's way to similar to Fred Weasley for the story. Sorry.

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* * *

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The fall of Lord Voldemort occurred in stages: his rise to power in the 1950s, and his eventual fall to Harry Potter, alias the Boy-Who-Lived, in 1980. In the year 1995, he was resurrected under the care of Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr. His eventual over- take of the wizard prison Azkaban in 1995 and first public appearance in early 1996 soon followed his return to power. Under the guise of Severus Snape, a double agent working against Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore was murdered in 1996 and the overtake of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry soon followed. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were finally challenged by the students of Hogwarts and the secret anti-dark magic group known as the Order of the Phoenix. That same day, Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort once and for all.

_Nineteen years later, the famed Harry Potter and his wife, Ginerva Weasley-Potter, watched their two oldest sons leave for Hogwarts. Harry Potter's scar hadn't pained him for nineteen years. All was well for his children and the next generation of wizards and witches. _

_This is where their story begins…_

* * *

**September 12****th****, 2027.**

_Jack's Place Pub, London: 11: 33 pm…_

"So, you're a student?" Twenty-six year old James Potter leaned back in his chair, smiling at the woman with _such nice legs_ next to him.

She turned and gave a little smile. "Yeah…I go to the local university. Studying commercial communication. Me mum thought it wouldn't be smart to get involved in something so minimally studied…"

He nodded. _What the bloody hell is she saying? _He kept nodding. _Jesus H. Christ, those are _nice_ legs_…

"…And after my professor gives the 'okay', I'll be ready to take an internship in West End." She looked at him expectantly; he just stared back at her.

"That is _wonder_ful," he responded smoothly. His eyes traveled downward again.

"Hello?" She slapped his face. "I'm up here," she snapped.

He blinked and looked at her. "I know that," He drank some of his whiskey. "I know," he reassured her. The girl narrowed her eyes and stood to leave. "Wait, come on!" He ran after her, and in the process of doing so, ran right into her _large _boyfriend.

"Cheyenne, is there a problem?" he asked, shoving James back.

"No, no problem, mate, we were just talking," He shot him a shit-eating grin.

His eye twitched. "You got something to say, buddy?" His friends came up from behind him with their girlfriends.

James shoved him back. "Not at all, cupcake."

He snarled and grabbed James' shirt. "Maybe you can't count, there are four of us and one of you!"

James smirked. He felt his wand in the back pocket of his jeans. He could rip them apart if he really wanted to. "So get more guys, and then it'll be an even fight," He slapped the man's cheek in a mocking manner. The man grabbed James and pulled him back. That's when the alcohol kicked in. James punched him right in the kisser. The man reeled for half-a-second and then he smacked him right back, sending James flying into the tables behind him.

"Another night of fun…" James mumbled.

* * *

"_Son?" Harry was standing over a eleven-year-old James. "Son, just don't flourish your wand so much. You'll get it." James was distraught over not being able to perform the Expellriarmus charm in school. _

_James pouted. "You mastered this way before me! I'm never going to get it!" _

_Harry smiled at his son and handed him the wand. "Just try. One more time." _

_James sucked in a deep breath. "Expellriarmus!" Harry's wand flew out of his hand and onto the grass below. Harry shrugged when James looked in astonishment at the wand on the ground. _

"_You did it," he said, patting his shoulder. _

"Son? Son?" Someone was shaking him. James opened his eyes and looked up at the blurry image above him. There was sticky blood on his face. Who was bleeding? He looked down at his hands and felt his cheeks.

Damn it.

"Wha…" he mumbled.

The man grabbed his arm and lifted him up. He saw a blue shimmer from a ring in his face. "Come on."

They sat at a lone table in silence. The bar had been cleared out long before and the only one left was the royally pissed off bartender, cleaning his glasses. "Professor Nathan Hyde," the man said as James stuffed more tissues into his excessively bleeding nostrils. Professor Hyde had curly, graying hair and was slightly tan with a bright smile. However, he hadn't seen the man smile after he drunkenly stated that he has a pretty ring. He frowned and cocked his head slightly. "I'm sorry about my students. They know better than to get into bar brawls." James just looked at the wall. He didn't need this now. "You know," he finally said, "I couldn't believe it when the bartender told me who you were."

James frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"James Potter, son of Harry and Ginerva Potter," he said. James narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry, I went to Hogwarts." James raised a brow.

"Teaching a bunch of local university students after going to Hogwarts? Sounds like a waste," James scoffed.

He nodded, frowning. "That's how some view it, yes. But I knew your father in school. Well, I didn't know him personally, but he was three years behind me. Good kid, he was. Great man. I see some of him in you, you know. You sought that fight out into the end, your father did just the same. The man never stopped; I always admired that about him."

James downed the small cup in front of him, sighing. "Hey, Benny? Can I get another…" he trailed at the look on Benny's face. "Nevermind," he turned back to the older man in front of him. "Yeah, good ol' dad sure made a name for himself," he said dryly.

Professor Hyde narrowed his eyes. "You are aware that your father was a great man, yes? Saved thousands of lives, including your mother's." James didn't respond. He knew what his father did, no one needed to remind him. He was a great man, a man James could never live up to. Professor Hyde leaned forward. "I dare you to do better, James."

James sucked in a harsh breath. "What?"

"I dare you to better. Make a name for _yourself_, since your father already made the family name even more famous than his father before."

He laughed humorlessly, shaking his head. "Why are you even talking to me, mate? You don't even know me, you really didn't know my father, either," James snapped. He looked down at the bloody tissue on the table. What was this man playing at?

He sighed. "There are dark forces always brewing. The Dark Lord doesn't have to be alive to create evil, you know. There's been talk for a few years now. History may just repeat itself, James. You, your brother, your sister, you have power that very few others have. If you want to diminish these dark forces once and for all, I would suggest you do better than your father did. That is, if you want to save those who are in danger. Think about it, James."

"You know, I really don't need…" James looked up. The man was gone. He rubbed his forehead. "I need to lay off the whiskey," he muttered.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?" Lily Potter slammed the door behind James. It was 3: 00 in the morning and he had just walked in with blood caking his face and shirt. James' eyes widened slightly at the sight of his sister; Lily's face matched the color of her fiery red hair. "You know, I stay up all night, worried sick that—Stop that!" She grabbed the good napkin that he was wiping off his face with from his hands.

"Have a party?" he asked, picking up another napkin when she wasn't looking.

She grabbed the silverware off of the table. "No, it was Jeremy. He came over for—You know what? That's not important; what happened to you?"

He leaned against the wall, looking out of the window. "Ran my broom into the Tower of London," he responded.

She slammed the silverware that she was putting away onto the counter. "Damn it, James! Do you think this is funny?" She grabbed the other napkin from him. "You need to take life seriously," she said, pointing a knife in her hands at him. "You are twenty-bloody-six years old and you're living in _my _flat. I am juggling my job at the ministry and babysitting _you_ and at least attempting to have a normal relationship with someone and, you know what? I just can't do it anymore! You need to get out and get a job. Tonight."

He smiled as she slammed the silverware into the drawers. "Lils, it's three in the morning."

She turned on him, face still red. "Then go clean yourself off and go to bed! But tomorrow afternoon—"

"You mean _this _afternoon?"

She inhaled deeply, her hand itching to grab her wand and hex him out of the window. "Yes, _this _afternoon, James. You are getting out and getting a proper job. I don't care if it's at the ministry, or in the muggle world or what! But get. A. Job."

He smirked. "Of course, sis." He walked back to his room, kissing her cheek. "Good night, dahling." James always knew he could get a smile out of her.

He was right. Lily chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Tomorrow afternoon, James Potter!" she called as he closed the door.

That night, he heard his father's voice before he fell asleep.

"_Be the best you can be, James. Don't worry about failing, just do what you can and you will succeed in anything."_

He sighed, "Yeah, if only I were so lucky, dad."

_

* * *

__The Next Day: Ministry of Magic: 2:00 pm…_

"What is he doing?" Rick Bell stood by the training room door, Victoire Weasley next to him. She rolled her eyes, pulling a piece of her almost-white hair behind her ear.

"Practicing. He's a bit on edge since Kingsley called us in. Remember Ursula Yikes?"

"Yeah, she died in February, right?"

"Yep. Kingsley told us that there have been eight other unsolved deaths in the past four months, now. Five of the killings were from the Ministry."

"The other three?"

"Muggles that were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Rick closed his eyes and shook his head. Eight in four months? Some muggles, too. This was definitely no coincidence; Rick felt his stomach clench at the thought of the possibility of a dark force behind the killings.

"What does the minister want to do about this?"

"He doesn't want to make this public. He's afraid of a fear pandemic, like when You-Know-Who came back into power."

Rick frowned. "Then what are we going to do? Just let more die?"

"I don't know, Rick. Okay, I'm sorry, but that's not my department. I just do the dirty work."

Albus Potter hit several targets with his wand while apparating and dissaparating from spot to spot. He hit the last target, which flew into the wall with a resounding _smash_, and smiled at his work. Looking around the corner of the room, he called out, "Leah!"

A tan young woman with long dirty blonde hair in a ponytail ran up to him. "What's up?"

"I need some reports that were filed on recent activity involving unsolved murder cases." She bit her lip, giving him a sorry look. He cocked his head to the side, wiping off his glasses on his shirt. "What?"

"Well…I'm not supposed to give anyone clearance to those files."

"What? Why?" He narrowed his eyes, clenching the wand tightly.

"Kingsley doesn't want to cause a panic. He's dealt with this before and knows that now is the time to wait, Albus."

"What? Ah, is Kingsley going mad?" Albus turned around, kicking a training dummy violently, causing it to topple over in a heap. If there was one thing Albus inherited from his father other than looks, it was definitely a foul temper.

Leah jumped at the sudden outburst, her face softening. "Don't say that, you'll get us both in trouble!" she tried to joke. Albus only glared at the floor. She rolled her eyes, sighing, "Now, I can't give you any clearance to those files right now," She raised her eyebrows. "You'll have to just _wait_ until later, _after _some of this has blown over _tonight_. Got it?"

He nodded, trying to hide a smile. He could always count on Leah. His Leah. "Yeah, I think I got it."

"Good." She kissed his cheek. "See you tonight."

Victoire and Rick came over, stopping with their heads cocked as Albus stared off after his fiancé. "She is some woman," mused Rick. Albus blinked, turning back to his friend.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, some woman…Oi! Keep your eyes to yourself!" Rick laughed.

"You gonna' get your hands on that information tonight, then?" asked Victoire.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. We're having dinner tonight and going over the guest list and then I'll get it." He summoned a small rag into his hands and wiped any sweat off of his neck and forehead, leaning against the wall.

She rolled her eyes, clapping her hands together. "Aren't you two cute? Such a sweet little couple!" she squealed, clapping her hands together.

"As I recall, my first ride to Hogwarts you and Teddy couldn't keep your hands off of each other. You still couldn't seven years later," he said pointedly.

She waved a hand in the air, blowing off the old hurt. "Teddy's gone his own way. He's doing…well, he's doing. And I'm here, doing what I've wanted to do for years. I think we're both perfectly content where we are."

He shook his head, grabbing some things from the room. "I'm sure you are, Victoire."

She grabbed her wand from her robes. "And what does that mean?"

He smiled, despite the fact that his quite possibly insane cousin was pointing a wand at his throat. "What does it sound like?" He walked toward the door. "I'll send an owl to you tomorrow, Rick," He made his way into the hallway. "See you tomorrow, _Vicky_," he called behind his back.

She fumed. "Victoire!" she shouted with a perfect French accent on her name. He only chuckled, using his wand to close the door behind him. She turned to Rick, wand still in her hand. "I don't need a man in my life, especially Ted Lupin, to be happy! Do I?"

Rick's eyes widened. "No…" He made his way out the door. "Of course not, Victoire. I'll talk to you tomorrow!" he called, quickly making his way out of the training room.

Victoire stood there, glaring at the empty space in front of her. She remembered that day at King's Cross.

"_So, you're the famous Theodore Lupin?" she asked, leaning against the wall. _

_It was her first time in England, her mother had moved to France when she was very young and her sister still a baby; of course her father followed, working for an international magic corporation. She could tell who Teddy was the moment she saw him. His bright turquoise hair stood out from at least twenty feet away and he'd been changing his face into animals for his younger friends. She had waited until they had left to walk up to him to greet the boy she'd heard about nonstop from her cousins. He was handsome, an unusual trait for nineteen year-old boys. _

_He smiled, cocky. "Teddy, love. Just Teddy. And you must be Victoire."_

"_I am. I've heard so much about you from the letters from my cousins." _

_The smile grew and he leaned in close to her. She didn't bother to move away; she loved the attention boys gave her. "Really? What do you think, then?" She was the prettiest girl he'd seen. And he knew some pretty girls. As the unofficial ladies man of Hogwarts, Teddy Lupin loved when girls would try and flirt with him. Oh, he knew alright. But here's the rub, Ted Remus Lupin always wins. Always._

"_I think," She leaned into him, trying to surprise him. "That you're a popular boy here." _

"_Is that so?" He said, grinning cheekily._

_She leaned even closer, blowing a little of her breath into his face. He blinked, but didn't back down. "Mhmm, it's so." _

"_Good." He went in for the kill. Kissing her passionately, he waited for any sign of displeasure. There were none. _

_Victoire was surprised he'd been so…bold with her. Not many boys were as brave around her as this one. And she liked it. She liked that little spark of mischief and passion in his eyes that would show when she teased him. When his kiss came, she didn't pull away. In fact, she leaned into it, enjoying the moment. This one was definitely a keeper. Faintly, she thought she heard someone, a young boy's voice, call out. "Bloody hell!" _

_It was just her imagination… _

Tears threatening to escape, she held her head high…

…And promptly blasted all the remaining objects in the room to smithereens.

* * *

_Waylon Market ,Exchange Employment Agency: 4:12 pm…_

"So, Mr. Potter, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Where do you want to be in ten years?"

James sat in the uncomfortable chair, looking at the chubby company employer with distaste. He squirmed in his khaki pants and button-down shirt that Lily made him wear and pulled at his collar slightly. "I would like to be in a steady, well-paying job in ten years." She raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Now, are there any special abilities or talents you can bring to the "Waylon Market Exchange" family?"

"Abilities?"

She nodded. "Yes, what makes you different? What makes you, you?

He stared at her for a moment. Lily had told him how to answer to muggle employers. They didn't require what the ministry required. Sighing, he prepared to give the proper answers dictated to him this morning. "I'm a team player," he recited. "I know when to be a leader, but also when it's time to let someone else lead. I'll work whenever you need me, but family is my main focus. I have a brother and a sister and several cousins and their families. I'm a family man as well as a…" He stopped, sighing. He couldn't do this. Taking the smile off of his face, he looked at the chubby woman in the eyes. "Look, I'm going to be honest. I'm not a hard worker, never have been. I've been able to get by in school due to my dad's help and the fact that some things just came easy to me. I haven't been able to hold onto a decent job for more than four months. I am a known alcoholic, even though I have _so much _to live for, according to some tosser that got me out of a bar-fight last night. My brother and I haven't spoken in three years and my sister only keeps me around because she feels sorry for me. My mum and dad live in their perfect little house with my aunt and uncle close by, but I never visit. I was tossed out of the house Christmas Eve with my baby cousins watching me throw up in the front lawn; I haven't seen them in God-knows-how-long and the pathetic thing is that I don't think I care all that much. That's me. Take it or leave it, ma'am. Oh, and I can do things with magic; if you want, I can transport from this chair to the other end of the room," he smiled brightly. The woman raised her eyebrows.

"So, how'd it go?" Lily asked as James got into the car.

"Got escorted out of the building," he responded, closing the door. Lily's smile faded and her eyes widened. Closing her eyes, she sighed and put her head on the steering wheel.

"What did you do?"

"I told her the truth." Lily groaned and pounded her head on the wheel for a few minutes.

"Alright," Putting the car into drive, she sped out of the parking lot. "Let's go get some lunch." She grit her teeth and drove fast and hard. He was never going to learn.

On the way there, James looked out the window. He'd seen the tears of frustration well up in his sister's eyes. A throbbing pain erupted in his chest when he saw the one tear fall. He'd hurt her again. He'd hurt her with his pride and his arrogance. There was no apology needed, he knew that. The only way to get by without an argument today was silence. Looking out the window, he watched all the people walk by on the streets. It was when they passed a lone phone booth, he saw him. The man was standing there with a cardboard sign. "Do Better For Yourself. Magically Transform Your Image", it read. The man had graying curly hair and a blue ring on his left hand.

"Professor Hyde?" he asked out loud.

"What?" Lily turned to him, concerned.

"Stop the car. Now!" Lily quickly pulled over and James jumped out of the car. Running to the phone booth, he stopped and looked around. Frantically looking from person to person, he tried to find the professor from the previous night. "What the…" he breathed.

"James! Bloody hell, don't do that! What's wrong with you?" She grabbed his arm. "Hello? James?" He turned to her a moment later, seeing the concern on her face. "What is going on with you?" she asked, feeling his forehead.

Rolling his eyes, he pulled away. "He was standing right there, Lils. Right by the phone booth."

She looked at the phone booth, frowning. "You mean the guest entrance?"

"What?"

"The guest entrance to the Ministry. This is it." Breathing a sigh of relief, she patted his shoulder. "You probably just saw someone you recognized go into it, right?" She laughed lightly, although it was evident she didn't quite believe her own words, and turned back around.

He blinked. Guest entrance? Shaking his head, he walked back to the car. "Yeah, I guess…Let's go, I'm hungry," he muttered.

Slamming the door, he put his head against the headrest. What was wrong with him, anymore? Lily got in a minute later, looking at him with her questioning brown eyes. "Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?"

"I don't need a Goddamned doctor, Lily!" he shouted.

She flinched at his voice, but didn't say anything after. "Fine. You don't need anyone, James. I get it." He knew she didn't just mean the doctor. "Put your seatbelt on, then."

He grumbled to himself and closed his eyes. What happened to him? He used to be "James Potter the Ladies Man" and "James Potter the Trouble Maker". Now he was just a loser. A

bum. Thinking about Professor Hyde's words, he remembered the sign by the phone booth. "Do Better. Magically Transform Your Life". Eyes snapping open, he turned to Lily.

"Are there any open jobs at the Ministry?" he asked.

She blinked. He wanted a… "I-I don't know, why?"

"Well, you work there. Albus works there. Why not add the third Potter to the bunch?"

She frowned. He'd been acting strange lately and she wanted to know why. She answered cautiously, "I could find something, I'm sure. Despite your last…job, I'm sure I can get a few strings pulled, again," she muttered the last part under her breath. "But you'd have to be committed; no being late, no coming in drunk, no getting fired after only a couple months. I refuse to relive that episode, James." She gave him a pointed look.

He brushed it off, and continued talking. "Yeah, I understand, Lily. Just…can you get me a job or not?"

Shaking her head, she turned into the restaurant parking lot. He needed this. James could do it, she had no doubt. He just had to stay focused. If she was there to check in on him from time to time, he wouldn't get in trouble too easily. Finally deciding in her head, she answered him, "I can."

"You always were my favorite, Lils!" He kissed her cheek, smiling. "How about lunch on me?"

Lily dropped her head against the headrest when he practically bounced into the restaurant. "Oh, James," she muttered.

* * *

_Albus Potter's apartment: 7:30 pm _

"I love you," whispered Leah as Albus kissed her.

"I love you, too," he answered back. She smiled into the kiss.

Pulling away, he poured her more wine. It was just a simple night of spaghetti and wine in Albus' apartment. She turned a few pages in her notebook, pen in her ear. "Alright, we've got everyone in your family and everyone in mine. We put Rick, Jodel, Ronan, Daniel, Elise, Heather, Erik, and Kevin from work. You said you wanted this small; is there anyone else you want?"

Albus looked over the list. "Nope. I'm good with that. You?"

"I'm fine with this. Just family and friends. I mean, your family takes up a fair majority of the list," she joked. Leah had one sister and only four cousins in her entire family. Whereas Albus had the whole Weasley side of the family, plus his Uncle Dudley and his family. It was a large clan to say the least.

"I think it's perfect." He scanned over his family, making sure no one was accidentally left out. A particular name caught his eye. "You're inviting James?"

Leah nodded, chewing on the spaghetti. "Of course. He's your brother, Albus. Even if he doesn't come, he deserves an invitation."

Albus sighed. He loved his brother. He just didn't know if inviting him would be the best of ideas. They hadn't talked in three years and he had heard from Lily that James was out drinking every night…and would come home with a bloody shirt and bruises in the early morning. It pained him to know that his brother was out slowly killing himself and that he could do nothing about it. Nodding slowly, he handed her the notebook.

"Alright. We invite him. But he gets no alcohol at the reception."

Leah nodded, frowning slightly. "So, you've made the arrangements with Hugo, right?"

"I have. He knows exactly what he's going to do. He's already got the speech made."

Leah laughed. "Well, Heidi has a general idea of what she needs to do. I don't think she quite knows what a bride's maid is." Heidi McLaggen was a nice woman, but she wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree. She was always…well, she was Heidi. There wasn't much more to say.

Albus laughed. "Alright. We've got the wedding handled. Now, what about those files?"

A smug look on her face, Leah pulled the files out of her bag with her wand and had them float into Albus' lap. He gave her a look before opening them. Scanning over some records and muggle police reports, Albus' face grew more and more concerned.

_Ara AmouraMinistry Official: "Internal Affairs" Age: 38Time of death: Approximately 11:53 pm, April 7__th__, 2027No definite cause of death. No internal failures, no external harm. Presumably the Death Curse was used. _

_Hector Jennings_

_Ministry Official: "Auror"Age: 59Time of death: Approximately 11:32 pm, May 25__th__, 2027No definite cause of death. No internal failures, no external harm. Presumably the Death Curse was used. _

_Viola Patterson Ministry Official: "Auror"Age: 29Time of death: Approximately 11:45 pm, July 4__th__, 2027_

_No definite cause of death. No internal failures, no external harm. Presumably the Death Curse was used. _

_Serena Xenior Ministry Official: "Internal Affairs"Age: 29Time of death: Approximately 11:24 pm, July 18__th__, 2027_

_No definite cause of death. No internal failures, no external harm. Presumably the Death Curse was used. _

_Gregory Newman Ministry Official: "Auror"Age: 43_

_Time of death: Approximately 11:56 pm, July 23__rd__, 2027_

_Crushed by rubble from local building. Presumably the building had been hit with the "Reducto" spell._

_Muggle Deaths:_

_Abigail Thrash Age: 32_

_Time of death: Approximately 11:56 pm, July 23__rd__, 2027_

_Crushed by rubble from local building. Presumably the building had been hit with the "Reducto" spell._

_Ivan Marks_

_Age: 25Time of death: Approximately 11:56 pm, July 23__rd__, 2027_

_Crushed by rubble from local building. Presumably the building had been hit with the "Reducto" spell._

_Jacob Johnson_

_Age: 54Time of death: Approximately 11:56 pm, July 23__rd__, 2027_

_Crushed by rubble from local building. Presumably the building had been hit with the "Reducto" spell._

Albus frowned, putting the papers down. There was several files after it, all speculating what actually happened to those Ministry officials. He was speechless. There was silence as Leah waited for him to speak. "He fought back," he finally said.

"Who, love?"

"Gregory Newman. The Auror. He fought back and ended up getting himself, and three muggles, crushed to death."

Leah put an arm around his waist, pulling him close. "He fought back? Was he was in danger? What does this mean?"

Albus turned to her. "Yes. It also means…that Gregory Newman, and the other four officials, were attacked by someone. And that someone wanted them dead for a reason."

There was an eerie silence as they both looked at the file laying on the table. Somehow, that little plastic holder seemed so much more dangerous than before.

* * *

_1245 Huntington Woods, Oxford: 11:44 pm…_

The young woman's head snapped around at the noise. Someone was following her, that much she knew. Wand held tightly, she prepared for any attack that came. There was a rustle from the bushes. She spun around, wand aimed at the bushes. "Who's there? Show yourself!" There was more rustling from the bushes and the woman backed up further. More rustling and a few low whispers came from the bushes ahead. "Show yourself!" she screeched, extreme fear and desperation evident in her voice this time.

"Pashaaaaassssaaaathaaaa," came the whisper. She cocked her head slightly, and breathed heavily. Her eyes darted around widely. "Shathaaaaphaaashaaaa…" came again. "Sihahashiiiiimmmm." Gulping, she took a hesitant step forward. Looking through the bushes, she saw two golden eyes peering out at her.

"Who…?"

There was a blinding flash of green light.

And then nothing.

* * *

Yes, the first few scenes were definitely taken from the video.

I always imagined that training rooms of the ministry had dummies or targets for practice. Kind of like the Order of the Phoenix when they trained.

Albus and Leah are getting married. There's also Jeremy and Lily, who you'll hear about later. And, of course, Hugo's got someone, too. More character romance may appear.

I know it's not my best work, but I'm pretty sure it'll get better :) So, I hope you enjoyed and have a great day!

~Devil


	2. Reunions of the Worst Sort

Here's chapter two!

Enjoy!

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* * *

_

_The Ministry of Magic, 3:00 pm…_

"Minister, we need to talk." Albus Potter stood in the Minister of Magic's office, trying not to begin to pace when Kingsley just stood up and looked at a photo of him and the re-created Order of The Phoenix. "Minister, we are risking people's lives by not telling anyone about the attacks," he said desperately. Kinsley just continued to stare at the moving photo. Albus grit his teeth and waited for him to make the next move.

"You're just like your father," he mused quietly.

"What?" Albus' frustration was growing. "Minister—"

Kingsley held up a hand. "I know about those files Ms. Wood borrowed yesterday. I know you were made aware they were to be kept under lock and key. But you took them. Just like your father…always breaking the rules…" Kingsley was made aware every day that he was an old man, a tired old man. He'd been running the Ministry for over thirty years and watched as the young men and women of his time grew and made families. He watched as the Ministry changed and formed into a better organization. He'd always worked day and night, almost to the point of collapsing from exhaustion, trying to get things done the way they should be. Now, though, he wanted nothing more than to retire and take his wife out to the country to live out the rest of their lives. However, the attacks. He couldn't retire and leave the decisions up to another, less experienced, man. He knew how to handle this and it was going to be done right as long as he was in charge.

As long as he was in charge.

"Minister," Albus spoke, interrupting his thoughts. "I understand the regulations that were given regarding those files, but I needed to see what was in there. I needed to know what we were dealing with. And now that I know, I can't say that I think you're making the right choice by keeping this a secret. The Prophet's made a story of it, but they don't know what I know. What you know. People have a right to be aware, to protect themselves; what if more die? When are we going to draw the line?"

Kinsley nodded. The boy made an excellent point. "Albus, when Lord Voldemort came back into power, Cornelius Fudge was the Minister of Magic," he sighed. "Fudge was a good man, but he let his fear and his hunger for order consume him. People were told that Dumbledore and your father were crazy and liars. Up until the beginning of summer, your father and Dumbledore were brushed aside. When Voldemort gained access to the Ministry. Fudge saw him dissaparate; he had no choice but to alert the public."

"Then so should we," said Albus.

Kingsley held up his hand again. Albus knew another history lesson was coming. "When Fudge retired that summer, Rufus Scrimgeour was the Minister of Magic. The following year, people were disappearing, muggles were dying while the Death Eaters ran ramped throughout the country. Everyone was on guard, everyone was scared. People were put into Azkaban under the fear that they, too were followers of Voldemort. There was a pandemic of fear. No one was safe." He turned to Albus. "I cannot say that I want to keep this a secret; however, people are so afraid of another uprising, that this pandemic will start all over again. And, I must say, it might be for nothing. I have several Aurors and people in Internal Affairs working on this right now. We cannot jeopardize the public's security by releasing all the information just yet."

Albus shook his head. Was he crazy? He knew what would happen if people didn't know, he lived through it! Fine, if he has people in Internal Affairs working…Albus' head snapped up in realization. "Wait. Aurors? Internal Affairs? Minister, have you, yourself looked at the files?"

He shook his head. "Even I am not granted clearance to the finished files."

Albus put his hands on his desk and looked Kingsley straight in the eye. "I'm going need a record of everyone who was involved in the investigations as soon as possible."

* * *

"Mr. Potter, a pleasure to meet you!" Alora Nichol shook James' hand vigorously. "Lily has told me all about you." She gave Lily a side look that may or may not have been displeased.

"Thanks, I've heard boat-load about you, too. And you can just call me James."

She smiled. "Alright, James. Well, I have you starting out on security Level 7. Here's your uniform," She handed him a small package filled with clothing. "And you'll need to have your wand ready at all times. I would suggest keeping it in a front pocket." He looked down at the uniform in distaste, but shot Alora a winning smile.

"Great. I'll just get changed, then and be on my way." He grabbed Lily's arm. "Lils, would you mind showing me the way to the lou?" he ground out. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Alora. Come, sister," he growled. When the rounded the corner he let go of her arm and all-but threw the package into her arms. "A security guard? Really?"

"What? You think I'd make you an Auror on your first day? James, you don't have a great track record here, nor do you have the proper training for a majority of jobs. This was the best I could do." She threw the package back to him. "You're guarding the meeting rooms for public officials, you know. It's a big job. So, take the bloody uniform and get down there. You start in ten minutes." She kissed his cheek and walked down the hall.

"Where are you goin'?" he called.

"To my job at Internal Affairs. Now get going, James!"

James looked at the package. He could do this. It wasn't so bad, really. He could…

Ten minutes later he stood at the entrance to the meeting rooms wearing blue robes with black boots. He left his pants on under it, not wanting to feel the ever-present breeze that was somehow always in the Ministry.

…He definitely couldn't do this.

Around noon about thirty public officials entered the rooms. James stood there quietly and gave out directions when he was confronted by a lost official. "Third door the right…yes sir." He tried not to lean against the wall and _really _tried to not roll his eyes. Security guard. What a joke.

"James?" Shit. He knew that voice.

"Uncle Percy," he greeted his uncle, smiling through grit teeth. His uncle had aged slightly over the four years he hadn't seen him. He was growing lines around his eyes and his curly hair was graying at the edges. Despite the fact that he had long reconciled with his family, he still had that long, over-important stride to his walk and that imperious look on his face whenever he saw anyone else other than the Minister. He was still arrogant, he was still Percy. He was never fond of his uncle, and the same went for Percy.

Percy walked over to him and looked him up and down, a smug expression on his face. James wanted nothing to do but grab his wand and… "James Sirius, how nice to see you. "So, it seems you have received yet another job here. Good for you, my boy." James smiled again and moved his hand away from his front pocket slowly. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you, though," he continued. "I've heard you've separated yourself from the family, especially after your little spat with Albus." He said, a slight grin coming to his face. Son of a…

"Well, I'm here," snapped James. "But then again, I suppose you understand my situation," Percy raised an eyebrow. James smirked and continued, "I mean, with you completely ignoring your family and becoming a slave to the system." Percy's eyes narrowed. Oh, but James wasn't done just yet. He wanted to make sure that smug grin never came to his prick of an uncle's face again. "You didn't even care about them. I've heard stories about how Grandma would cry for hours at a time after you left. You really fucked up their lives, there." Percy's face reddened and he was about to rebut when James cut him off. "Except, here's the difference between you and me, Percy. _I _came back because I wanted to reconnect with my family, be a better person. I didn't do it because I was on a loosing side." Knowing it was totally inappropriate to speak like that to his uncle was irrelevant at this point.

Percy took a step into his nephew and gripped his wand tightly. He was not to be spoken to in such a manner! "Watch your tongue, boy," he snarled. "I am a public official representing the Ministry and your _uncle_. I would be careful who you anger, s_on_."

"Are you threatening me?" he asked, returning his furious stare calmly.

Percy looked around. A few people were casting side glances at the two. He quickly straightened and removed any offending wrinkles from his robes. He smiled not-so-pleasantly at James. "I believe you are to wish me a good day," he said.

"Third door on your right. Don't let it hit you on the way in," James responded, gesturing to the door down the hall. Percy glared at him and stalked away. James smiled and held his head high. That definitely made his job much more appealing.

Several minutes passed and James looked around at the remaining Aurors and public officials talk amongst themselves. It was when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see the one person he wished could go a lifetime without seeing or having to deal with.

A giant grin crept into the man's face. "So, the prodigal son returns…"

"Albus," James muttered. He looked behind his brother to see Victoire Weasley leaning against the wall, idly flipping through "The Daily Prophet".

His brother chuckled and bear-hugged him. "Haven't seen you in years," he said.

James rolled his eyes. "Well, you did say, and I quote: 'I never want to see your drunken face around my family again'."

Albus pulled away and eyed his brother nervously. "That was three years ago, James. And," he added, "you're not drunk, are you?" He didn't smile at the attempted humor. Albus sighed. "I was angry James, and you were a mess. You were wasted…and ya' scared Mum and really pissed off Dad…I just couldn't let you hurt anyone else."

James' blood boiled. "Look, Al, I've stayed away from _our _family and I've lived my own life. I thought you'd be quite happy to be rid of me for a good three years."

"James, I know you're angry, I am too. But we've got to make the best of this. If you want to really apply yourself, then you need to stop the fighting and the defensiveness."

James grabbed his pocket, ready to pull the wand out. "What do you mean _I_?I absolutely love how you're never able to pin the blame on yourself. It's always someone else's fault, Albus! You are never at fault! Of course, you wouldn't know the meaning of the word, because you've never had to deal with punishment, with failure!" At the shouting, Victoire, looked up from the newspaper and frowned.

_This cannot end well_, she thought.

"Don't turn this around, James! I studied, I worked hard! Don't you dare tell me that I had it easy, because I didn't! But I applied myself and actually wanted to do something with my life! You, on the other hand, just wanted to get some girls and decided to goof off." He pushed him against the wall. "Don't you _dare _assume that I had it easy in life. You have no idea, James!"

"Albus, don't give me that horse manure. I'm not going to buy that you studied day and night. I _know _that's not what went down in school. Every night we'd go about with the Marauder's Map and you barely opened a book! You had the smarts, you had the talent, you didn't _need _to work hard!"

"But I did! I wanted to do something with my life, and when something went wrong, I didn't wallow in self-pity and get drunk! I didn't go out and get a Hungarian Horntail tattoo just to piss off Mum and I didn't sleep with Justine McLaggen because Dad had something against her dad! I didn't give up on studying because things didn't come easy to me, James. That was you!" He shoved him further into the wall. Victoire stepped forward, wand out, ready to stop any fight that would break out.

James narrowed his eyes and grabbed Albus' collar. "Don't touch me," he growled. "Now you listen and you listen good, Albus Severus. I was only given a job here because of dad. When I did get in here, I couldn't hold it down for more than four months and then I got kicked out of job interview after job interview over the past eight years. A week ago, I was stone drunk and almost shagged a university student. Instead, I came home with a broken nose and blood all over me. I realized I couldn't go on like that and asked Lily for a second chance here. I want a second chance, I want to reconnect with my family, I want to stop needing a drink every night. I _want to stop_ being looked at as Harry Potter's shadow. I am going to make a name for myself and, whether or not you like it, I'm going to be working with you. So, you can either take it or leave it, but don't _ever_ try to justify what you did, because I just don't have the time for it."

He shoved his brother back and turned away. Albus cocked his head to the side. "James," he said. "James…I…"

"Don't," he said. "I don't care." There was a pause. A moment later, Albus hugged him from behind. James stiffened. "What the hell?" He pulled out of his brother's embrace.

"You're right. What I did was wrong, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to be kicked out of the house and I shouldn't have pushed you away when you needed your family. I'm glad you're here, I really am. I've missed you, James. And I'm glad you're finally trying to do something for yourself. But you need help. You need support, James, or you'll end up on the streets again. We both need to work hard at this, okay? I never wanted to push you away, but we were both stupid and scared. We both need to accept each other. We can start doing it right now, alright?" James stayed silent for a long time. He didn't want his brother to apologize, he just wanted him to stop talking. Now.

"Albus…"

His brother looked him in the eye. "We'll talk tonight, yeah? We'll catch up."

"And who's idea was this?" The look on Albus' face was more than enough information. "Lily," he muttered. "Look, Albus, I'm not up for this tonight."

"James." His brother's tone was forceful, and he turned to look at him. "If we aren't going to get this out of the way, then when? It's just going to be another excuse, James. I don't want to live like this. Not anymore."

Before James could answer, Victoire came interrupted, "I hate to interrupt this little family spat, but we have to go," She walked up to Albus and grabbed his suit.

"Ah, Vicky. Still bitchy, I see," James commented wryly.

She narrowed her eyes. "_Victoire_. And I see you're still as unbearably obnoxious as ever," she commented.

James acknowledged her banter happily. "I missed you're cold-hearted wit, Vic. I really did." She made a face at him and then marched off down the hall. He leaned into his brother. "I always knew she was mental." Albus snorted.

"She's my partner."

"God help you." They gave each other side glances and Albus burst out laughing; James smiled lightly.

"Hey, I have to go, but we'll talk tonight, got it? I want to reconnect too."

"ALBUS!"

He quickly hurried off after their cousin. "Can't wait," muttered James.

"This meeting has been called due to the recent events concerning the deaths of five Ministry Officials." Minister Kingsley was standing at the head of the room, several files and reports in front of him. "It has come to my attention that there is a definite pattern in the killings. To better explain this, I am going to let Mr. Potter tell you what was uncovered."

Albus nodded to the minister and stood up, looking around the room. Victoire was sitting next to him, giving him an impatient yet supporting look. The other officials eyed him with scrutiny. He took a deep breath and held up the reports Leah had taken. "Five Ministry Officials were killed within the span of four months. Each killing was unprovoked and suspicious; however, there are is a pattern in the method and time of the killings." Holding up the reports, he continued. "Now, if you notice—"

Percy stood up, interrupting his nephew. "Why should we listen to this? You shouldn't even have clearance to any of these files." There were a few murmured agreements.

"Uncle Percy, I am aware of my actions. However, without this information it is very possible more officials will die."

Bethany Irving stood up, adjusting her square glasses so that they were perched perfectly at the end of her nose. "I believe consequences should be administered in light of this evidence against you, Mr. Potter. This meeting is gracing you with approval toward your actions. Minister?"

Kinsley stood up and shook his head. "This is not the time to bicker about whether or not Mr. Potter deserves repercussions for his actions. I would like him to continue."

"Why should he?" Kline Goyle stood up. He towered a good six inches above everyone in the room and they all looked up at him in apprehension. "It's been obvious that Potter never receives any kind of punishment for what he does, even if it's against the rules. Anyone else would be suspended from the Ministry for this."

Percy calmly regarded Albus, the glimmer of victory in his eyes. "It is evident that Albus is not aware of the word 'consequences' and has allowed his freedom from any kind of punishment to overshadow the difference between right and wrong." Albus narrowed his eyes.

A few more people stood up and began to debate the situation. About half the room, mainly other Aurors that Albus had worked with, argued in his defense. The other half continued to repeat their accusations toward him. Albus simple sighed and shook his head. Victoire stood up and put her fingers to her mouth, emitting a loud whistle throughout the room. There was silence as everyone turned to her.

"Oi! What the bloody hell is wrong with you people? This is not about Albus, this is not about you're petty problems with him. Five officials, five of our _friends _are dead! And five more might as well die if all we're going to do is fight about whether or not to suspend Albus. Now all of you have something against my partner, I know, but this meeting if for the protection of our world. If you're all alright with another threat coming up and biting us hard in the arse then be my guest and continue your little debate. But if you want to keep more people from dying then I suggest you sit down and shut your bloody mouths." One by one everyone shifted uncomfortably before taking a seat. Percy was the only one standing along with Victoire. She gave her uncle a hard glare and he returned it in earnest.

Slowly, Kinsley stood up. "Enough," he said, his voice tired. He turned toward Victoire, "Thank you Ms. Weasley. Despite your…unorthodox methods of quieting a room you never fail to do so. Ms. Weasley is very correct," Percy huffed, ready to start again, when Kingsley held up a hand. "And so is _Mr. _Weasley. I have already spoken to Mr. Potter about his actions; I believe I can make a decision fairly well regarding my Aurors," He gave Percy a pointed look and his cheeks heated a bit. "Now, Mr. Potter, if you will."

Albus looked to his uncle, who grudgingly sat down. Victoire gave a smirk of approval and patted her cousin on the shoulder before taking her seat as well. "Thank you, Minister. As I was saying, the pattern of these killings is rather curious. Each killing happened from 11:00 at night to 12:00 in the morning. Also, each person killed was involved in the case regarding the death of Ursula Yikes in late February. The murderer seems to have a method to whom they're killing and when. I believe we should alert everyone else involved with the case to be extra cautious, especially at night."

"Why? All this would do is create a mass pandemic," said Bethany.

"I agree with Secretary Irving," said Percy. "Why cause a worry?"

"Because the last time we didn't, an innocent man was killed and You-Know-Who gained a large advantage over us!" Victoire snapped, leaning forward.

"It is unnecessary to warn the people of something that we aren't even fully aware of. It would be a disaster," he answered.

"Are you insane? You were there when this happened! You know what happened when we were ignorant! Sirius Black was killed and my uncle and Professor Dumbledore were ostracized from society! The Ministry spewed censored propaganda and rumors that tore the wizarding world apart from the inside! How can you be so obtuse?"

"Don't you call me obtuse," he shot back. "I _was _there when this happened. I was there when You-Know-Who invaded the Ministry and when dangerous prisoners escaped Azkaban! I was there at the battle! I was there to see my brother die in my arms! Don't _you dare _call me obtuse, because you don't know the half of it, Victoire Antoinette Weasley!"

There was a more than awkward silence as Percy stood there, red faced and a single tear running down his cheek. Kinsley looked between the two and gestured for everyone to sit down; when they finally did, he spoke. "I understand the gravity of the situation for both you," he said. "But as it's been pointed out, this is not about either of you, now is it? This is about the lives that are in jeopardy." He let his words sink in for a few moments before continuing. "I agree with Albus. We will alert everyone involving the murders. For now, this meeting is adjourned."

On the way out of the hall, Victoire ran up to her uncle, who was speaking with Madame Under Secretary Robinson. When they finished, she tapped his shoulder. "Uncle Percy," she started.

He held up a hand. "We won't speak about it, alright? It's in the past. You won, Victoire. I would suggest you go and alert your colleagues."

She narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me? I was trying to apologize."

He turned to her. "I understand that. I also understand that you convinced Kingsley, I didn't. Congratulations."

She stepped into him, blue eyes flashing. "This was not a competition! You were wrong and I as right, I agree with you, but I was trying to—"

"I did not say you were right. Quite the contrary, I believe you couldn't be more wrong."

"What? You said that you fought in the battle! You saw Uncle Fred die! How can you ignore this after seeing that?"

He sucked in a deep breath, calming himself down, and patted her shoulder. "You think that you are so very educated, so very experienced. You will see, Victoire. You will see." He turned on his heel and left the hall.

"Why that miserable…" She felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder.

"Is there a problem here?" James smirked as she slowly turned around.

"Get off of me, Potter," she sneered.

"Whoa there. I can have you escorted out of here, Ms. Weasley. I don't want to have to do that."

She shrugged out of his grip. "Piss off. I'm going to the training room."

She stalked off and slammed one of the doors behind her. Albus walked over to his brother, frowning. "I wouldn't aggravate her," he said.

"Why? She gonna' curse me?"

Shaking his head, he took off his glasses and played with them, a habit he'd had since he was seven. "Victoire's having a rough go lately. Ever since Teddy left, well, she's been…" He shrugged. "Well, she's been."

"How long ago was that, though? Six years?"

"It was a bad split," he explained.

"Oh come on. What could have happened?"

"You don't understand, James. You weren't always with her like I was. You just bugged her; when push came to shove we were always together talking about our futures, even though she's much older than me. Vic was the head of her class, a shoe-in for a position as an Auror. Teddy wanted to go out and explore the world after Hogwarts. He wanted to learn about other things, see other things. For about two years they were good. But after the next three years of fighting and space away from each other, she caught Teddy with another girl. She…just wasn't around. They fought for another month and then she came home to find a note on her bed and no Teddy."

James' eyes widened. "Jesus, that's not what I heard. Who told you this?"

"Victoire," He saw the disbelief in his brother's eyes. "We've been partners for five years, James. There's got to be trust there."

"I suppose. But she and Ted were always so close; I mean they always looked happy, you know?"

Albus sighed. "That's what I thought. But remember that one Christmas where Teddy wasn't there?" James nodded. "He was off…he was exploring."

James narrowed his eyes. "Why? We're practically his family, aren't we?"

"Yes, but Victoire didn't want him to come with her. She was so mad at him, you know. So he just went out and had a happy holiday with a girl named Yvonne."

He nodded appreciatively. "Yvonne? Ted? Ted and Yvonne…Tevonne. Yed. Hmmm, I could see that." Albus glared at him through the corner of his eye. "What?"

He walked away, shaking his head, trying to hide his smile. "7:30 tonight James, don't be late," he said over his shoulder.

James chuckled bitterly. "Would if I could, brother. Lily's the one with the damn car," he muttered.

* * *

Victoire Weasley slammed the door to her flat as she walked into her house. Throwing her purse onto the chair nearby she stalked over to her phone. One new message…

She pressed the button rather violently and went into her kitchen, grabbing a packet of coffee beans. Yes, coffee. She had hated tea ever since she was young. With her mother always brewing coffee in the late afternoon, she'd come to love it since the young age of ten.

The first message was from her sister. Victoire never expected to get an owl from Dominique; she never really took the idea of magic. When they were young and mixing potions, Dominique was mixing spices. The girl went through Hogwarts and then left for Paris and got a job as the manager of a high-end restaurant on the Seine.

"Victoire, it's Dominique," she said, her English accent coming through the French. "Mamma's been egging me to come down for the holidays. She wants to put me up in the house, but Louis is brining over his friend…oh bugger what's his name? Alright never mind. Either way, I don't think they'll be enough room between the two boys, mum, and dad there. I mean, they're going to have Christmas night dinner; it'll just be too much. I was hoping I could bunker down at your place. If I can't I'll just get a room somewhere nearby but let me know soon, alright? Au revoir!" Victoire rolled her eyes and waited for the next message to come on. Of course she'd help out her sister, but Dominique didn't want to Floo in, she'd want to take a plane. She wouldn't want a letter sent to her house, she'd want a message. Victoire hated phones, the only reason she really had one was because of muggle appearances.

The next message beeped and started. "Hello darling," The voice of Daniel, her good friend, echoed throughout the flat. "Look, my uncle just had a heart attack last night so I'm going to Litchfield for the week. Sorry, I won't be able to go to dinner on Tuesday. We'll rain check it honey, I promise. Kisses!" Victoire narrowed her eyes into her empty mug and sat down at the small table in her kitchen.

Daniel was her only hope this anymore. She used to despise him when they were training together. But, he made her smile, something she needed desperately. Every week they would go out into the city and see a film or have dinner…or if they really feel adventurous, do both. He was the only thing that kept her out of her house when she wasn't working. When she was alone, she would think of…

Never mind that. _He _is unimportant. _He _is irrelevant. When her coffee was done, she took a flagon out of her "special" cabinet and poured it into the mug. Straight black…with a little bit of whiskey.

It lifts you right up.

* * *

"Hey! Right on time!" Albus opened up the door to his flat. Lily had put on a nice little blouse and jeans, trying to look nice. James, on the other hand, was _forced _to where his nice button down with jeans. It was just Albus…

"Al! I haven't been over in ages," Lily kissed his cheek and gave him the bottle of butterbeer in her hands. "I thought this would be a nice," she whispered the last part, "_easy _drink."

"Lils," James said dully, "I can hear you." Lily blushed slightly and gave Albus an "I try" look.

"Well, come on in," Albus quickly amended. "Everything's ready. I have some roast chicken, potatoes, salad." He gestured to the small dining room table with food set about and a Hogwarts Quidditch emblem embroidered in the center. James felt his stomach churn with jealously. He had been one of the best Keepers that Gryffindor had ever had, he was right up there with the big names. Theodore Thames, Henrietta Goald, Julius DiHenri, Oliver Wood. His name was there, on the plaque sitting in the trophy case in one of Hogwarts many hallways. Yet Albus was made a Seeker in his third year. One of the best Seekers that Hogwarts had ever had. Slytherin and Gryffindor was a sight to see when James and Lily went up against Albus and Scorpius Malfoy, a right good Chaser, if James could say so himself. Either way, Albus was always the "Golden Child". He could master any spell, work well with any potion, recite pieces of magical history that their father himself had never heard of. On top of all of this, he was, besides his father, one of the best, one of the youngest Seekers to have existed. Albus was, in a word, perfect. Nothing, nothing worth trying anyway, could take that away.

"James?" He turned his head toward Lily's voice. She was preparing to sit down with an expectant and worried look on her face.

"Oh, yeah. Let's, uh, enjoy," said James quickly.

Sitting down, the three siblings sat awkwardly for a moment. Lily was playing with the end of the table cloth, while James simply began taking bites of the chicken. Albus smiled widely while looking between his older brother and little sister. "Well, this is great," he finally said. "Lils, I haven't had a spare moment with you in months and James…well, I haven't' seen you in years." He lifted his glass. "To the three Potter Brats," he said, using Professor Sinistra's name for the three of them. "May we be close for a long time." Taking a sip of water, he began to eat his salad. There was more awkward silence as they all slowly ate the dinner Albus had prepared.

"Great chicken, Albus," said Lily. "Isn't it good James?"

James rolled his eyes and stopped mid-bite. "Yes. Albus, you make good very good chicken. I believe I can compliment him on my own," he said, giving his sister a look. "Honestly, Al, the gravy's really good." He shoveled down more potatoes.

Albus smiled. "Yeah? Well, it was all magic's doing," he said, slightly bitter. "So, how's work going?"

"Nothing much. I'm supposed to be investigating those murders, but everything's coming to a stop. _Somebody _made a scene at the meeting today," Lily raised her eyebrows into her salad.

Albus gave a sheepish smile. "You know it was for the best, Lils. I don't quite feel comfortable with you on this case, though." She waved him off with her fork. Albus narrowed his eyes at his stubborn sister and turned to James. "What about you, James?"

James pursed his lips in thought. "I pissed off Uncle Percy today. It was a good day, I suppose."

Lily's eyes widened. "You didn't James; he's a public official! You can't just—"

"What? I can't defend myself when some prick—"

"Don't call your uncle a prick, James! I can't believe…you are just looking for trouble, aren't you?"

"Lily, the man was instigating a fight! I am not going to let anyone, uncle or not, talk to me like I'm worthless!"

"That's not the point! I don't understand why you just can't—"

"Guys?" Albus interrupted. "Can't we just calm down? I'm sure there's a reasonable way to settle this."

"Not with this imbecile," muttered Lily.

"Come on. I'm sure we can—"

"Shut up, Albus!" James barked.

"Don't tell him to shut up! This whole thing is for you and you just went and ruined it!"

"Me? Lily, you're absolutely mad if you think this is _my fault_. You jumped all over me, here."

"Because you're so rude, and disrespectful, and irresponsible, James!"

"So, Percy can disrespect me, but I can't knock him down to size? Is that it? I'm not allowed to defend myself because I don't _deserve the right_?" He stood up, eyes narrowed.

"Why do you have to blow everything out of proportion? You don't deserve it, is that what you think? James Sirius Potter for the past six years you've gone out and slowly killed yourself. And for three years I've had to take care of you! I've watched you destroy yourself! Don't you understand that? And when I finally get you a second chance at the Ministry, you go and insult someone who could fire you in a heartbeat!" Lily threw down her napkin and stood up. Albus just stared at his sister and brother with wide eyes. Every time he tried to open his mouth, there was another shout overpowering what he was about to say.

"You wouldn't had to do that if my family wouldn't have kicked my out on the streets!"

"And whose fault is that?" She rebutted sarcastically.

"Guys, please—"

"SHUT UP, ALBUS!" They both shouted.

There was tense silence, and then James whispered harshly, "I tried for years to piece my life back together and when I was getting close you all kicked me out!"

"I didn't kick you out, James. You practically walked out yourself!" Lily, despite being much shorter than her brother, looked him directly in the eyes, neck stretched high.

"Albus threw me out in the snow! In front of the entire family! Little Lucy was only ten, Lily! Fred was twelve! Louis, Roxanne and Molly were fourteen! I wonder what they all think of their cousin after _that _little show? Huh? How can you defend that? My little cousins think I'm a worthless bum that doesn't even deserve Christmas dinner with them!"

Lily gripped her fork tightly. "Don't give me that! It was that pity that made me take you in, James! I gave up time with Jeremy, time with my family and friends, to help you! And what was the thanks I get? Three years cleaning your sorry arse up after nightly bar brawls? I used to look up to you, James. But now all I see is a worthless, lazy, useless lump of failure! You've broken me, James," she whispered. "You finally did it. Are you happy?" Now her voice was rising again. "Are. You Happy!" She breathed deeply, face red, while pulling out the chair roughly and grabbing her coat. James just stood there, dumbstruck, as his sister opened the door. "Al, thanks for dinner. I'm sorry about all this. And James," She stared hard at her oldest brother. "Don't come home tonight." With that, she slammed the door the flat.

James and Albus stood at the table, looking at the door. Both were somewhat expecting Lily to either open the door again and come and hug her brother, or jump out and say, "You fell for it!" The minutes passed and, no matter what the two thought, Lily wasn't coming back.

James blinked back any tears that may have dared to threaten escape and took a deep breath. "I should go. Thanks for the try, Al." Grabbing the doorknob, he was stopped by his brother's quiet voice.

"You can stay here tonight."

He turned around slowly, an almost unbelieving look in his dark brown eyes. Albus nodded to him and smiled softly. "Look," he said, finally getting his voice back. "I don't need your pity."

Surprise flitted across Albus' features. "I'm not offering pity. But I am offering more chicken, maybe some pudding, and a pull-out couch that could…magically transform into a bed." James eyed him for a moment, and then smirked. Albus' smile grew.

"Are you sure…?" he asked.

"You need a place, and I need a roommate now that Leah moved in with her friends before the wedding. I don't want to live like this, James. I want to get close to you."

"And Leah?"

Albus sighed, "She's got this whole thing about seeing me too much before the wedding. I don't know, I just go with it. For now, your no burden."

James' smirk grew into a large grin. It had been a long time since he had grinned like that; his face almost hurt from the sudden change in expression. "Pudding, you say?" he asked slyly.

"By the bowl," responded Albus. "Are you up for it?"

James considered this. He knew Lily would let him back in if he went back. He didn't want to go back, though. And Lily had made it quite clear of her disdain for his presence at this time. And Albus _was _offering… "I'm in," he said, a twinkle in his eye.

Albus nodded toward the table and they both sat down, digging into the remaining food.

* * *

Lily opened the door to her flat, face puffy and eyes bloodshot. She had been crying, borderline sobbing, since she had left Albus' flat. She didn't want her brother around anymore, but she felt she needed James' kind words at the current moment. He could make her feel better, she knew. Chest heaving, she leaned against the door frame for support.

Her head snapped up, though, the moment she heard a slight scuffle. "James?" she said, wondering if her brother had apparated in. "Hello? James, is that you? Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Pahhhaaaashaathaaalaaaa," The sound came from her bedroom.

"What the bloody hell?" she muttered, pulling out her wand.

"Shahihaaaaathahhhhhlaaaa," came another whisper. She narrowed her eyes; she knew that sound. Her brother had spoken similar words when they were young. One day at the zoo when she was six, Albus began carrying on a conversation with an anaconda in the reptile house. That was Parseltongue.

"Show yourself now!" she snarled. There was another rustle when suddenly a blinding flash of light consumed the apartment.

A shadowed figure appeared over an unconscious Lily Potter. It hissed a low, menacing hiss and then the shadow consumed her whole.

* * *

Alrighty then, there it is. Hope you folks liked it. Feel free to drop a review on the way out ;)


	3. Family: The Ties That Bind Us

Hey, guys :) Sorry for not updating sooner. Between school, work, and my family I haven't had any time lately. Here's chapter three, I hope you guys like it :)

Enjoy!

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* * *

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_Two Weeks Later: Albus Potter's Apartment, 6:30 pm…_

"Oi," called James. "I picked up some Italian." He closed the door behind him while balancing a large bag in his arm. Albus poked his head around the corner from the kitchen.

"Great. Whatcha' get?"

James looked in the bag. "Uh, pasta with red sauce, pasta with white sauce, pasta with vegetables, garlic bread…"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "James, there's only two of us."

His brother smiled while taking the containers out of the bag. "Well, there's you…there's me…there's Leah…there's Rick…there's Victoire." He sighed, "Lily didn't respond. I think she's still mad at us." Albus nodded sympathetically; James shrugged and picked up the paper bag, "Anyway, the way I see it, I picked up just the right amount."

"Wait. You invited them all over? James, when are they coming over?"

He looked at his watch. "In about five minutes."

"James! I…I can't have company tonight! The flat's a mess, I'm in sweats and a T-Shirt, and haven't showered today, and—"

"Albus," James interrupted. "There's a very simple solution to all this," He held up his wand. "Go get cleaned up and I'll take care of the place. Okay?"

Albus laughed at himself. "Right. Magic. Alright, make sure everything's clean," He ran into his bedroom. "I'll be out in a flash!" James smiled and shook his head at his brother's unnecessary panic. With a look around the small living room, he flicked his wand and all the books were put back on the shelf and the stains were wiped off of the table, the couch's pillows were placed back neatly in place, while the curtains were pulled neatly back into place. Satisfied with his work, he moved into the kitchen. There were pots and dishes overflowing out of the sink, bubbles already on the floor. No doubt his brother was just starting to fix everything up. The dishes were quickly washed and put out on the table, napkins, silverware, and glasses following. The food was taken out of its containers and put into nice serving dishes and the sauces were in little bowls. The floor sparkled and the tiny breakfast table was straightened up and the chairs were pushed in. James smiled triumphantly. Two hours of work done in two minutes. He tapped his wand once more and the lights dimmed to the right brightness in the dining area.

Albus emerged from the bathroom, a nice shirt and jeans on, and hair wet. He towel dried his hair until it stood upright. Narrowing his eyes at the image of himself in the mirror, he flicked his wand and his hair was put right again. Smirking at the reflection, he put his glasses back on and came out. "Good job with the cleaning, James," he said. Looking back into his room, he pulled out his wand. James stopped him before he could move his hand. He gave his brother a confused look. James smirked and closed the door to the room.

"It's the ultimate solution," he said.

A few minutes later, Rick and Leah knocked on the door. Rick had a plate of crackers with cheese and basil on them and Leah had a small vase of flowers. Victoire soon followed, carrying a bottle of good French wine that Dominique sent her. Sitting down at the table, the five starting passing the serving dishes around. Leah smiled at James while spooning the angel hair with the white sauce onto her plate.

"James, it was so considerate of you to get pasta that's vegetarian. Thank you." James smiled brightly at her and Albus raised an eyebrow at him.

"You knew she didn't eat meat?" he whispered to him.

"No bloody clue," he whispered back. Albus smirked.

"James, how's the job coming?" asked Rick.

"Fine. Telling people where to go gives me a sense of power," He waggled his eyebrows and they laughed.

"Oh!" Leah said. "So, Albus and I finally picked a location for the wedding. We've got the invitation list and sent it to the paper company to print out."

"Where is it?" asked Victoire.

Albus smiled impishly and looked at Leah, eyebrow raised. "The Burrow," she said sheepishly.

"What?" Victoire snapped. "You went to _all that _trouble and then decided on option number one? Really?"

"Well, we considered a bunch of places. But, in the end, we knew the Burrow would be the best place, the place for everyone."

"It took you two months to figure that out?"

"Oh, shut it, Victoire," Albus joked.

"So, Vic, how's the family?" James asked through bites of penne.

Victoire gave him a look for using that atrocious nickname. "Mamma has taken up knitting, and Grandmamma is teaching her. Pappa is still working; but we're all trying to get him to retire. He wants to work, though. Mamma thinks if she get him an interview at Hogwarts for something he might consider it. Dominique planning to come for the holidays; but she refuses to Floo in," She rolled her eyes. "So, I'm calling a cab for her."

"How about Louis? How old his he now?"

"Seventh year," James blinked in surprise. Was he that old already? Victoire's face contorted in distaste, "I don't know about him…Kid won't even try Quidditch."

"Victoire, he may not like it. I know Hugo tried it out and didn't like it. Rose and Molly and Lucy weren't keen on it either," said Albus.

"Well Hugo was scared of his own shadow for the first ten years of his life," she shot back, causing James and Rick to adolescently laugh into their glasses. "Rose was just like Auntie Hermione, anyway; Lucy and Molly…well, look at their dad. He's the prime definition of a pansy."

"Victoire!" Leah scolded. "That's terrible!"

She shrugged. "It's true. Anyway, Louis isn't interested in Quidditch, DADA, or anything but potions. Mamma got a letter from him a few days ago and he's brining his friend Jazz over for the holidays. He hangs around this Jazz boy too much, I think."

"Oh, give him a break, Vic," James said. "I bet he's doing just fine."

* * *

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…_

"Get off me!"

Louis Weasley was thrown and pinned against the wall by Xander Phillips. He smirked and held his wand steady. "What's wrong, Weasel? Can't handle a bit of defensive magic?" Louis didn't say anything, and simply turned his head away from Xander. The boy narrowed his eyes, making Louis flip upside-down. "Come on, Louis," He would always say Louis' name with an 's' at the end, which burned Louis' French pride. "Hmm, you're a Ravenclaw, aren't ya' gonna' rebut?" At this point, several students were gathered around Xander and his friends and either cheering them on or telling them to cut Louis a break.

Louis looked up at him calmly, though his face was slowly turning red. "You're a Neanderthal underachiever that has a hard time controlling his temper, and who apparently has a speech impediment."

Xander snarled and lifted Louis up high in the air and made him fall a few feet at a time before stopping, making Louis' stomach do summersaults. He gulped down any bile threatening to escape and gasped as he fell again. Suddenly, he was upside-down again and his robes were slowly falling off. He was slammed into a wall and then thrown across the hall into the next wall. "What do you have to say now, _Louis_?" he said again, trying to get a rise out of him. "I think you're just a little Squib, you know! You sit around all day and play with your potions and can't even transform a bird into a cup! Louis is a Squib!" he began chanting. Louis was beginning to feel nauseous and saw everything blur around him. All the while, his body was ringing in pain from being slammed into the stone walls.

"Put him down, Xander!" shouted a girl, coming forward. Jazz Dailey had her wand pointed at him. "Put him down, or I'll hex you so good you're grandchildren will feel it," she threatened, grey eyes darkening.

Xander simply smirked. "Hey, Weasel!" he called. "You're little girlfriend is here to save you! Isn't that sweet?"

Louis looked down at Jazz. Her bright blonde hair was in a messy pony-tail and her square glasses were fogged up with anger. "Jazz, it's alright!" he called down. "I'll handle it."

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I see you're winning." He rolled his eyes. Jazz turned back to Xander. "I will give you to the count of three," He didn't budge. She smiled. "Fine. We'll just skip right on, then. _Furnunculus_!" Several boils erupted on Xander's face. His eyes winded as a couple popped and white goo spluttered out. Kids backed away and a few, "Ewwws!" came out of the crowd. Louis fell a few feet and Jazz stopped him from hitting the stone ground. She gently let him down; by now he was extremely pale and green tinted his cheeks. Xander stood up, seething.

"Why you little—Gah!" Another boil popped. He growled, pointing his wand at her.

"_Mar_—"

"_What _is going on, here?" Professor Dominic Karleen, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, walked up, arms crossed. He stood about six feet seven inches tall and was bald; he also had the thickest eyebrow's you'd ever seen. An intimidating force at Hogwarts, he frightened the children almost as much as the late Professor Snape did. "I see we have a boy covered in boils, another boy with mutiple injuries, looking about ready to empty the contents of his stomach, and you in the middle of it, Ms. Dailey." Jazz flushed and lowered her eyes. The students were, by now, all going about their business far away from the group, afraid to even stay around to see the outcome. "Detention for you, Mr. Phillips, and you too, Ms. Dailey. Mr. Phillips I suggest you see Madame Pomfrey for those boils. You too, Mr. Weasley, I do not wish to clean up vomit." Louis nodded weakly and Jazz helped him to the Hospital Wing, Xander grudgingly following.

After a few moments, a first-year ran up to Professor Karleen. "Professor, Professor! There are giant squirrels running around outside!" Her eyes were wide and she clutched her robes tightly.

He frowned. "Giant…squirrels?" He ran outside to the courtyard to see, true to the girl's word, enlarged squirrels running about. One grabbed a student's robes with its teeth and tossed him around. "What in Merlin's Beard?" he shouted. "_Reducio_!" He pointed his wand a several squirrels, reducing them back to normal size. "_Reducio_! _Reducio_!_ Reducio_!" After he, and several professors, returned the last of the squirrels to their normal size, he turned to any remaining students outside and looked around, eyes narrowed. "_Who _is responsible for this?" he said lowly. About fifteen fingers pointed to a semi-red headed teenage boy standing innocently behind some bushes. "Weasley!" he shouted.

Fred Weasley tried to hide his smirk while he calmly walked over to Professor Karleen. Just like his father and long deceased uncle, Fred Arthur Weasley enjoyed a good prank. "Yes?" he asked.

"Weasley, I have about twenty witnesses claiming you are the cause of this…madness. What do you have to say about it?"

He smiled brightly. "I am innocent, your honor!" he said, saluting him.

Karleen's dark eyes flashed. "Headmaster's office," he growled. "Now."

"Okay," he sighed.

Karleen grabbed his robes. "_Yes_, _sir_." he said.

"Of course," he said coolly. Karleen grabbed the scruff of Fred's neck and all-but dragged him to the Headmaster's office.

"Password?" The old gargoyle rasped, looking bored.

"Zarphin Melons," said Karleen.

Fred snorted, "_Zarphin Melons_?" He received a sharp smack to the back of the head and quieted, still smiling. They walked up the large spiral steps and stopped at the large wooden door that lead to the Headmaster's office.

Before Karleen could knock, a voice came from the other side. "Just come in!" it called.

They both walked in, Fred still being held by the neck. Headmaster William Hedling sat at his desk, not even looking up. Headmaster Hedling was always very tan, as if he had just come back from a nice vacation, and had cropped, dark hair. He was very skinny for a man in his fifties, though you always saw him with an overflowing plate of food at meal times. He always wore brown robes, maybe white or blue on special occasions, and had large red reading glasses that made his eyes five times bigger than they actually were. Despite his seemingly strict behavior, he was a good friend, a buddy to every student at Hogwarts. Of course, though he'd never admit it, Fred Weasley was one of his favorite students.

"Headmaster," said Karleen. "This boy—"

"I know what he did, I saw the fiasco from up here. If you wouldn't mind, Professor, I believe I can take it from here." Professor Hedling's voice seemed tired and almost bored as he spoke, slowly writing something down on a piece of parchment. He looked up, and Fred tried to conceal his laughter at seeing the Headmaster's enlarged brown eyes.

"Of course, sir." He turned on Fred. "I will be seeing you for your detention this weekend for your lovely little flatulence spell." When shock came across the boy's face, Professor Karleen smirked. "Oh, yes. I found out, alright. That will be thirty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley. Good day, Headmaster." With that, he swiftly left the office.

There was a brief pause between Fred and Hedling. The only noise in the room was the miniaturized pet dragon growling on his desk. After a moment, Hedling looked up, making sure to take off his glasses, and gestured to the seat in front of him. "Sit down, please." When Fred was comfortably seated, he continued. "Is there a week you _don't _have detention before the holidays?" he asked.

"Why? You checking up on me?" His eyebrows rose slightly as he sat in the overly plush chair, attempting to get a rise out of the lax professor.

The Headmaster acknowledged the boy's wit with a wry smirk. "Don't flatter yourself. Look, Fred, you're sixteen years old and still playing childish pranks. Don't you think it's time you mature as a young man?"

"Well, sir, my uncle and dad were still playing pranks into their seventh year. I believe I still have much to accomplish."

He sighed. "I hope you don't think you have to live up to anything, you know. You don't. Just because your father and your uncle, may he rest in peace, were trouble-makers doesn't mean you have to be. Your sister is already preparing for her NEWTs and thinking about a career. You're not too far from that."

"Headmaster, I don't think I have to live up to anything. I merely think it's tradition; tradition I'm happy to follow. Roxanne may be ready to go off and join the Ministry, but I'm an entrepreneur. I have an idea all set up."

Hedling smiled. "You mean your brand of "Inflicting Revenge" kits?" He levitated one onto the desk. "Or the "Troubling Punishments" ones? Oh, my personal favorite, a classic. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes". You're father and uncle started their first business off of this little kit, am I correct?"

Fred smiled. "You like them? I thought I'd keep the Wizard Wheezes going," he said proudly.

Hedling sighed. "Fred, as the Headmaster I must say that you are being quite irresponsible and rather juvenile by doing this," Fred's face fell. "However, I must say as a fan of a good joke, they are quite impressive." Fred beamed. "So, I would like you to focus more on your studies, and think about your future outside of pranks. Also, I would like you to try to not upset Professor Karleen any further, you know how he is."

"He's just angry because I put one of Slytherin's Beaters in the hospital wing last game," Hedling gave him a stern look. "I'll try," Fred sighed. He got up and walked toward the door.

"Good. Oh, and Fred? Detention will be waiting for you on your next free week."

"What? Really?" His eyes widened and he pouted.

Hedling smirked. "It's my duty, I'm sorry to inform you. Now, get back to class before I have to punish you again."

Fred sighed dramatically. "Yes, sir."

* * *

_The Ministry of Magic: 4:53 pm…_

"How'd the meeting go?" Albus had stalked out of the meeting room, glasses fogged up and fists clenched. He shoved his way past several officials and slammed several doors behind him. James stayed behind to talk with Victoire. His brother wasn't one to easily loose his temper; something was wrong.

"Bloody disaster. We just received word that Francis Jett was murdered a few weeks ago. Muggle authorities found her body and we had to go clean it up. Well, Kingsley wasn't ready to stop the investigation after hearing that. We told him that more people are at risk unless we tell them. Then of course Uncle Percy started up again and this time almost everyone was on his side. Albus tried to tell them that once we're off our guard, someone could easily get to the Minister. Well, that started a huge debate and the Minister had another coughing fit; that got us to shut up. He said that we should continue investigating, but keep it to ourselves. I tried to reason with him, but he just ended it right there and then. The man's too old to keep doing this, damn it. He's sick and can't judge things like he used to." Victoire leaned the back of her head against the wall, and grabbed a little vial out of her robes, quickly downing its contents. James' brow furrowed, curious as to what was in there.

Shaking off the question, he ignored her jamming the vial back in her robes. "Kingsley fought against Voldemort. Why doesn't he see all the warning signs?"

She waved a hand in the air. "Because he's too old, that's why. I tell you, history has a nasty habit of repeating itself and I think we're in for a good rerun with the way things are going."

James ran a hand through his hair. "How old?"

"How old, what?" she snapped.

"How old was Francis Jett?"

There was a pause. "Twenty-two." James closed his eyes. She was younger than him. She didn't deserve death…she was so young.

She slapped his arm. "Oh, knock it off, James! We all know that it's tragic, but there's nothing to do about it. I'm sorry." She saw the dark look on her cousin's face. "Look, James, we can't do anything about it. The only way to make sure Francis receives closure is by catching her murderer and letting the Dementors take care of him."

He nodded slowly, eyes staring off at the door down the hall. He nodded again. "Alright, what do we do?"

Victoire's mouth twitched into a smirk. "_Albus and I _are going to investigate this further. _You _are going to stay here and do your job."

James clenched his teeth. "Why? I am just as capable of—"

"_Stop_," she snapped. "I never said you weren't capable of anything. However, you are not an Auror; you never even finished training for Christ's sake! So…just suck it up and just do what you're told for once."

"You know, I don't appreciate you talking down to me, Vic," James narrowed his eyes.

Victoire had to quickly stop herself from laughing out loud. She did, however, scoff and waved a hand in the air. "Don't be so self-righteous. Just because you screwed up doesn't mean you can pin some self-induced, bottled up self-resent on me." There was a tense silence after her words. James was breathing heavily and his fists were clenched at his side, twitching upward toward his wand. Victoire showed no emotion other than the harsh glare in her eyes. Then, she shook her head and turned to walk away. "Grow up, Potter," she muttered.

James let out a roar and quickly took out his wand. "_Levi_-" Soon, he was thrown against the wall, his head slamming against the plaster roughly. He crumpled onto the floor, the world fuzzy for a moment. The pale and white-haired face of Victoire was above him in moments.

"I wouldn't do that," she said mockingly.

James snarled, lifting his wand again. It was out of his hand before he could register anything. He slowly stood up, rubbing his sore head. "You bitch," he spat.

Victoire actually looked taken aback at his words. He'd called her that on different occasions, but his time he wasn't joking, and he didn't look like he was going to smile and shrug off the insult anytime soon. That word…that horrid, _horrid _word. It was something she was used to hearing, of course, but by James? And with such intent? Never. Victoire gulped; the only other time she'd been called that with such malice by someone who actually mattered was by…

"Vic?"

James' voice made her head snap up to him. She blinked, realizing something wasn't right. She blinked again, and this time she felt something warm slide out of her eye.

Fuck.

"Vic?" There was a hand on her arm, gently. His hand was large, warm, just like… "Victoire? Are you alright? Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I swear. You just…you just made me so—" She ripped out of his grip violently. Her lip began to tremble against her own will. More warm tears slid down her cheek. The wound that was sewn up in such a haphazard manner was snapping, and snapping fast. Those words just kept echoing in her head, like a dull drum.

"_Why are you like this all the time? It used to turn me on, Vic. Now…Christ, now it just pisses me off."_

"_You bitch!" _

_Bitch…_

When one really thinks of the meaning of the word, especially when said word is used in such a hurtful tone, you begin to realize its true, cutting meaning. A bitch, by definition a female dog, was something so…wrong, so disgusting sounding. A bitch is a dog; nothing more. You'd known when you'd done something disgraceful when you were called that. That was just what Victoire had done on so many occasions. Teddy finally noticed, though, and he had not problem spitting out the insult like he would a sour tasting candy. He'd finally caught on.

James watched his cousin's face for a moment. So many emotions crossed over it almost as if she wasn't even herself right now. She didn't respond like he thought she would. "Victoire!" James hugged her tightly. Oh, shit…he broke his cousin. "I didn't mean it," he said into her ear gently. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he chanted.

Victoire cringed at James' contact and words. Those were his words, too. This was too much right now. Between the stress of this past few weeks, to James coming back in the family's life, to her friends being attacked, to hearing his hurtful words…The wound had began to unwind and finally rip violently.

"Get off of me!" She barked. "Just…go guard a door, James!" She bit, before stalking off in the other direction.

"Vic! Vicky, come back!" He ran after her. "Hey, come on! You know I didn't mean it! Are you PMS-ing?" He asked, genuinely concerned that her menstrual cycle had caused the current situation. Victoire rolled her eyes at her cousin's idiocy, but slammed the door behind her, locking it tight with her wand. James came at a stop in front of the wood.

_If I go in, she'll most likely kill me, _he thought. _If I get Albus to go in she'll kill him _and then _me. No, that won't do at all. If I let it go, she'll get over it, blow some stuff up, and then come and hex me so hard I'll be sore for a while. I won't be dead, at least. Hmm, option three it is! _

Sighing one last time, James trudged down the hall to where his brother entered and almost slammed the door off its hinges. James looked at the door, eyebrow raised and lips pouting thoughtfully. They were both fairly pissed…

Ah, hell.

"Albus?" he asked softly, knocking on the door. "Hey, I need to talk to ya'." James rolled his eyes at the request; he sounded like the ten year-old version of himself after throwing Albus out of the big tree in their backyard. How pathetic was that?

There was a long pause. James shifted slightly, red tinting his neck. Then, the door slowly opened magically. He took a tentative step in, peering around the door. Albus was leaning against the wall of the training room, several files floating in front of his face. There was a faint humming sound, and after a moments silence, James realized Albus was mumbling to himself. "Hey, Al," he said firmly. "We have an issue."

Again, there was a long pause. The mumbling stopped, which was a good start, and Albus' tense form relaxed slightly. He turned, the files dropping into his hands. "What's wrong?" he asked.

James blinked at the sight of his brother. His glasses were fogged up, his hair slightly askew, and his face weary, as if he hadn't been sleeping well lately. "Uh, Vic is what's wrong," he responded harshly. "She's mental, I tell you. She threw me into the wall and now she's sobbing in the room over. Words did indeed fly, yet that's never quite been a bother to her before, so that's not it. Quite frankly, I fear it may be her time of the month, but such a theory could most definitely be disproved, considering neither of us are aware of her current state of menstrual stability. So, unless you know those pretty little details, I'm quite stumped."

Albus' face slowly turned from concern, to confusion, to plain incredulous. He went over James' words in his head for a few extra moments, attempting to process any sense in them. "Are you trying to be funny?" he asked finally.

James frowned at his brother's response. "What? No, no I'm not. Victoire flung me into the nearby wall, I'm sure the crack is still there if you want to go check, and then I called her a bitch, then she started crying and yelling. Now, she's in the other room. She went from harsh, to angry, to upset, to broken down, to angry in less than five minutes. Again, I am seriously considering my latter theory."

"Will you stop with the period jokes?" Albus snapped. "Did you say anything else to her, other than calling her names?" James looked at the floor; the way his brother worded that statement made him feel extremely small.

"No, nothing else."

Albus frowned. "James, I honestly have no idea. She might just be mad because of the last meeting. I know I am," His face darkened.

"Fine, fine. But when she comes to you yelling about me or whatever, just know what I told you was the truth."

Albus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes, yes fine James. Now, please, I have to get this done. Alright?"

He nodded. "Yeah, of course mate. Get your…stuff done." James knew that he wasn't welcome in official Ministry business. He'd had his chance a long time ago. Now, he was standing in front of doors giving people directions to the Lou. The way Victoire spoke to him, spoke _down _to him, it was painful. And yet when he had made split-second decisions while training that ended with victory on his part, he was suspended, being told his actions were "reckless" and "irresponsible." No one was compromised and he had passed through that training exam. So, what was the problem?

He remembered a conversation he had with his father a long time ago as clear as day. That conversation changed him forever.

"_I don't get it!" Twenty year-old James slammed his fists down on his parent's kitchen counter in frustration. "I just don't! I mean, they want us to be on our guard, always ready for something new. Well, what I did was new!" _

_Harry couldn't help but smile at his son. He was looking out the window of their small farmhouse just a few miles away from Ron and Hermione. Slowly, he turned around, reducing his smile to a small smirk. "James, you're a smart man, a reliable man. And that's just the problem, son. You are a _man _now. Being…well, being reckless in your thinking instead of on guard is something you could get away with at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, that kind of behavior will get you killed during an actual duel." Harry thought back to Vincent Crabbe, who was impulsive, reckless…and not that bright. He burned to a crisp that night, all because he couldn't control himself. "You must maintain control along with quick thinking, James."_

_James grit his teeth, knuckles white. "In a split-second? That can't happen."_

"_I was able to do that, although I was more impulsive than thoughtful. I suppose you inherited that gene from me and your grandfather." _

_He lowered his head, not wanting to discuss the matter further. "They've suspended me again. One more time and I'm out of training. I can't become and Auror."_

_Harry's eyebrows rose suddenly. "What? James…how many suspensions have you had?" He looked at his son accusatorily. _

_There was a pause, a hesitant silence that filled the kitchen for a few beats. "Five times," James' voice was barely a whisper. _

_Harry's heart almost stopped. Five? He'd only been told this was his son's second suspension! He quickly calmed himself, not daring to allow any anger or outrage to show in front of his son. James wasn't good with anger, he couldn't handle the disappointment of seeing his father in such a state. He silently adjusted his round glasses, sighing deeply. "I didn't know you'd had that many suspensions__—"_

_James jumped up. "It's not my fault that everything I do is monitored by your mental brother-in-law! I can't do anything slightly deviating from the books anymore! Never!"_

"_Now just hold on a minute," Harry snapped. "Your Uncle Percy is a good man, he is not out to hurt your career."_

"_Yeah? Well, explain to me how every single suspension I've had has been reported to the officials by him?" James threw his arms up in a half defeated, half angry manner. _

_Another silence filled the room. Harry didn't know how to respond to his son's words. Was this true? Only being in his mid-forties, Harry was still working at the Ministry, but he'd never gotten involved with his children's affairs. That their business, not his own. "Son, I don't think Percy would_—_"_

"_Oh, no. He would."_

"_James Sirius, _do not_ interrupt me! Maybe you should look at yourself in the mirror and contemplate just how you're going to pass your training or even stay alive with your reckless behavior," Harry's eyes were cold, harsh. James just stared at his angry father, not knowing what to say. _

"_Fine," he chocked. "Maybe I'll do that." With that, he stormed out of the house._

That night was the first night he spent out at a local bar until the wee hours of the morning. He came in to training the next day, disheveled, hung-over, and irritable. One month later, he was dismissed from his training. That night, he repeated his previous actions, this time getting into a bar-fight and coming home bloody and broken. He didn't talk to his father for almost four months after that, and the next conversation between them was full of anger and accusations.

"Albus?" he asked, realizing that his brother was now back to mumbling and looking over files. "Albus?" he asked again.

There was a sigh and his brother slowly turned to him, greatly resembling his father when he did that. "What?"

"I just…I wanted…" he couldn't continue, because he didn't truly have anything prepared to say. Yet, he felt as though he needed to say something, _anything _to his brother. An apology, words of comfort, words of encouragement, a simple compliment or thank you for everything he's done for him over the course of a month. No matter how hard he'd try, though, no such words could come out of his mouth. He didn't know what restrictions held him back, but he simply couldn't put anything together to say. Looking at his brother sadly, he just settled for, "I'll see you at home," and left the room.

Anger flaring up in his chest and head, James violently kicked the wall beside him on his way out.

* * *

_Unknown location: Unknown time_

Lily Potter sat in the dark cell, attempting to stay on the only dry spot of concrete in the small area. Her wand was gone, most of her possessions that she had on her were gone, and her clothes were ripped and covered in mud. She didn't remember how she'd got here, but she did remember yelling at James at Albus' flat, almost hitting a Chevy on her way home, and then slamming her flat door open. That was it. She did know, however, that her current situation was related to the events and deaths from the Ministry that she'd been keeping files on. What she didn't understand was why she wasn't dead. There were no other prisoners that she was aware of, and she was of less importance than any of the killed Aurors and Ministry official. Her only hope of escape is that somehow she came in contact with anything magical, which would never happen, or that someone from the Ministry could track her down, which was very unlikely. So, then what was she doing here?

A door from down the hall was slammed open, and a figure wearing a long dark cloak swiftly moved into her holding area. The figure said nothing, only stood there, face shadowed by the hood of it's cloak.

"Whatever you want from me, you're not getting it," she snapped.

The figure still said nothing. She glared up at it, the fear in her mind not once showing in her features. She would not give this…whatever it was, the satisfaction of seeing her cower. Slowly, the figure's arm slid out of its cloak, coming close to her face. She gasped when she saw the pale arm, if that's even what it could be called. In the dim light the pale, nearly transparent skin shone, with large burn wounds and scars that were both fresh and old running along the flesh. The fresher wounds still seeped blood slightly, giving off a metallic and salty smell in the thin air. She cried out slightly at the sight of it. Self-mutilation.

Lily's nose twitched at the sight, and she backed as far away from the hand as possible. She could see the fingers as they neared her face. They had interesting tattoos and markings on them. She looked at them more intently…she knew those marks. Those were the marks of someone branded in Azkaban Prison. He'd been from the Prison, he'd have records, whoever he was. But how did he break out and why was his escape not reported? Surprising her, the fingers, despite their scars and blood, gently caressed her face. She turned away, almost biting the disgusting digits in the process. The figure didn't respond negatively or surprised at her actions. Instead it calmly retracted its arm, the florescent skin hidden once more by the dark cloak. Before leaving, the figure looked over Lily.

"Potter," the easy voice said softly, as though it were hissing.

She growled, ready to stand, until her legs gave out from under her and she slid back down to the cold concrete. From under the cloak, she could see a smirk on the figure's thin mouth. "You can't get away with this!" she hollered at the retreating back. "You're going to be taken down!"

It stopped, not turning to her, but looking at the young woman from the side of its eyes. The hissing voice spoke again. "I count on it." It swiftly made its way out of the holding area, and slammed the door.


End file.
